Manhattan was still pretty nasty in the mid '80s, when I left the east coast. I returned for a business trip in 1994, and was shocked by how clean Manhattan had become. Despite his latter day, uh, misadventures, Giuliani is pretty much the one responsible for cleaning up the city.
I can't think of any but Network could have been the ticket if Peter Finch decided to turn his ranting up a notch to murder.
"Network" has been in my Top 10 for over 20 yrs... I always lump that movie with its predecessors, "Ace in the Hole" and "A Face In The Crowd"
To the OP and everyone who participated here...thanks! There will be hours-to-months of endless enjoyment for me tracking down many of these movies. I love this era.
Great stuff folks. Just thinking I have 3 streaming services and I bet I could only watch a few of the films mentioned.
No, but I recommend "Next Stop, Greenwich Village", although it might be too comedic for "gritty", but I'm sure it's in NYC.
Looking over the pages of this thread I've not seen this movie listed as of yet, so here it is: DEADLY HERO (1976) starring Don Murray, Diahn Williams and, in a small part, James Earl Jones. Murray is a NYC policeman who might just enjoy roughing up suspects a bit too much. Murray seems to be enjoying his characterization as a cop who's not as righteous as he seems. Also: The 1978 vampire comedy NOCTURNA features some very groovy candid shots of New York City in 1978. At one point the filmmakers were shooting out of a taxicab window of lead actress Nai Bonet (who's decked out in a red gown) strolling along the night streets of The Big Apple. There's a 4-minute YouTube upload of a segment of the movie set to disco queen Vicki Sue Robinson's song "Nighttime Fantasy". I love this short video upload of NYC in '78. The guy Nocturna is talking to with the white pants named 'Abdullah' cannot possibly be an actor hired for the movie, btw. Nai Bonet was 'miked up' for her stroll; and look at all the people on the street noticing her due to that red gown.
A few unorthodox recommendations. I’m not sure if this has been mentioned. The Warriors is sort of a fantasy version of 1979 NYC. Also, Fame (1980) has a general grittiness and some good shots of the fire-ravaged Bronx.
I see it had in fact been mentioned. Definitely gritty, but also has a sci-fi sheen. It’s not the “real” NYC. Instead, it’s sort of like The Road Warrior set in a version of NYC that has a 1970’s-but-almost-80’s feel. Might as well have listed Escape From New York, but that’s 1981 and was shot in St. Louis. Regardless, The Warriors is one of my favorite flicks and worth seeing no matter what. Plus, Joe Walsh!
I can see a bit of a difference between the brown/orange tinged NYC of the 70’s films and the blue/gray NYC of the early 80’s, if that makes sense.
Shout out to Walter Hill! He sure has the touch when it comes to action. His writing credits alone are impressive: the run from 1975's HARD TIMES to 1982's 48 HOURS is of extremely high quality.
I'd suggest Lucio Fulci's The New York Ripper from 1982. But that might be TOO gritty for the OP, if he's just looking for the Mean Streets and French Connection type.
The 1980 release 'FAME' was mentioned above; the scene in "Fame" where the kids starts dancing on the streets of NYC and on top of cars and taxis was copied from the 1976 release APPLE PIE. Irene Cara was in both movies; she was either 15 or 16 when "Apple Pie" was filmed and she's clearly visible in the end sequence running out of a building to start dancing. Only thing is "Apple Pie" is still a very obscure movie while "Fame" is much more well known. APPLE PIE (1975) - Street Dance! 15 minutes of fun.
Even though this movie was released in 1982 there are quite a few scenes that take place underground and feature some of its denizens: A STRANGER IS WATCHING. Starring Rip Torn.
I watched Carlito's Way again last night. That scene at Gail's apartment, the door chain is between Carlito and Gail. She teases and messes with him until he is so overcome with desire he smashes the door open to get to her. Brilliant scene. And at the end, Benny Blanco's " No, you stay here" and then pops Pachanga . Ha!
Hm.. not sure if i ever saw that film but it has jogged a very, very vague memory of watching a vampire film set i'm sure in New York in the late 70s or early 80s.I don't think it was Nocturna as it wasn't really a comedy.Vaguely recall it, and can only remember there was lots of scenes of one character out in the streets being chased my a vampire or vampires whom he was glimpsing flying between the skyscrapers...AAArrgggh ! what was the film??
It's definitely not NOCTURNA, Warksman. If you do remember a movie where the main characters turn in to cartoon bats then it's 'Nocturna'. Most of the budget for NOCTURNA went to music so the rest of the movie was shot cheaply! So there's a scene where we get cartoon bats.
